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Ziya crouched beside the swimming pool, washing the blood off her body. The water in the pool shimmered under the lights, clear and inviting, though it felt warm like a hot spring.
Zhiqing carefully surveyed the area again. The light bulbs were clearly one hundred watts, illuminating a pool that spanned about an acre. The atmosphere was bright in the center of the pool, while the rest of the area remained shrouded in darkness. Numerous closed doors loomed in the shadows, exuding an eerie presence, suggesting that unimaginable things lurked within, waiting for some unsuspecting prey to wander into their trap.
Xiao Ranhong, in an excited mood, informed Zhiqing that besides the path they had just entered through, there were other routes to explore. Zhiqing and Ziya followed closely behind Xiao Ranhong as she led them toward another exit.
"Aren't you scared to be here?" Ziya asked, noticing that Xiao Ranhong showed no signs of fear despite her exuberant demeanor.
"Hehe, I think it's thrilling and fun! You can do whatever you want," Xiao Ranhong replied.
Sweat dripped down Zhiqing's forehead; this girl was truly naive and reckless to find it enjoyable. He silently cursed her under his breath.
Xiao Ranhong's words left Ziya speechless for a long moment. This girl talked incessantly, her voice flowing like a river, and it seemed that the omnipresent shadows and darkness only fueled her excitement. It was evident that she was a spoiled rich kid who had no idea of the dangers around her.
Zhiqing wanted to tell her the truth but feared she wouldn't be able to handle it or worse, that she wouldn't believe him at all.
The three of them arrived at the door of a room. Xiao Ranhong pushed it open and stepped inside, pointing at a mat on the floor. "This is my bed! It's just like a tatami mat used by the Japanese—so comfortable!"
"Are you not afraid of dying?" Ziya asked, her face paling as she finally voiced her concern.
"Dying? What’s there to be afraid of?" Xiao Ranhong plopped down on the mat with an innocent expression, tilting her youthful face to look at Zhiqing and Ziya.
"Forget it, Ziya. Don't engage her in these pointless conversations; let's go," Zhiqing called out to Xiao Ranhong.
"Where are we going?"
"Don't you want to go home?" Zhiqing replied, his frustration evident.
"Forget it, she's still young." Ziya understood that Zhiqing was somewhat annoyed by the girl's incessant chatter. In such a grim and eerie place filled with danger, one's mind is most vulnerable and requires a calm and stable mindset to analyze the current situation. The girl's constant talking was certainly irritating.
Ziya wanted to give Zhiqing some quiet space to think, so she pulled Xiao Ranhong aside and opened the Notebook to reveal Xiao Ranhong's name.
"Look, this is your name, along with your age and other details."
"This is mine?" The girl blinked, her eyes filled with curiosity as she spoke in disbelief. "Who put my file here?" She gazed at the photo in the Notebook and posed a challenging question to Ziya.
Indeed! Who had the ability to retrieve their personal files? Zhiqing rested his chin on his hand, surveying the room that was just like theirs—windowless and lacking ventilation. Were they filming a movie? But the dead person was right under their noses; it was impossible to use filming as an explanation for their current predicament. It must be the work of the Demon Leader. This led him to a hypothesis: they had all arrived in real hell, struggling within its confines, and perhaps they would even encounter Yama later. Zhiqing chuckled at his own ridiculous reasoning, his thoughts drifting as he occasionally heard snippets of conversation between Ziya and Xiao Ranhong. He remembered a time when he and Ziya had gone somewhere—specifically to Liang Chao and Sun Meng...
"I tell you, behind that iron door, there's a man locked up in there. It's really scary."
"You've seen him?" Ziya's heart leaped at the thought of another person existing in this place. She looked at the pensive Zhiqing and suppressed her excitement as she asked.
"What makes him scary?" Zhiqing's thoughts were interrupted by their conversation, and he approached them both for clarification.
"He yells loudly and sings."
"A madman?" Upon hearing Xiao Ranhong's description, Ziya's earlier excitement dampened significantly.
"Don't speak carelessly if you don't understand," Zhiqing said as he tucked the Notebook into his waistband and led the way out of the room.
The three of them walked into the corridor, where Ziya looked suspiciously at the flickering lights. The atmosphere felt unsettling, stirring an inexplicable anxiety within her.
"Sister Ziya, I'm not afraid of anything, except for this flickering light. It feels like a ghost is about to appear, which is really creepy," Xiao Ranhong said, tightly clutching Ziya's arm and shrinking back as she peered ahead. In this situation, they all sensed that this atmosphere was not a good omen, and no one wanted to voice it. However, the naive Xiao Ranhong spoke without restraint, voicing the thoughts that were swirling in their minds, which only heightened everyone's fear. Ziya ignored her words, tightening her grip on her slightly trembling body, keeping her eyes fixed on Zhiqing without wanting to divert her attention to Xiao Ranhong's concerns.
Silence invites contemplation, but an eerie stillness can feel abnormal. As they walked down the corridor, every inch of space seemed to harbor an unpredictable strangeness. Ahead was an open area illuminated by dim yellow light, revealing an iron door.
Seeing a door, whether it led to a dead end or a way out, instilled a sense of hope. They wondered what lay behind the iron door. As they approached, they noticed a large iron lock on it with a set of keys hanging from it. The man Xiao Ranhong mentioned must be locked inside that room beyond the door.
The iron door was so dirty that its original color was obscured; splotches resembling blood were smeared across its surface. The three of them stared at the keys within reach but hesitated to take action. After a few seconds of waiting, Ziya stepped forward to grasp the keys and turned the lock. With a slight click, she withdrew the key while Zhiqing stepped up to push open the heavy iron door.
As the door creaked open, they were met with another scene: inside was a large room leading into a narrow passageway that ended with another door.
"He’s inside there," Xiao Ranhong pointed at that door and said to Zhiqing.
"Wait," Zhiqing cautioned as he eyed the shadowy door. He didn't want Ziya to approach it; he feared there might be some kind of trap lurking in the darkness.
"It’s fine," Ziya replied nervously as she swallowed hard. She took the key and walked closer to the door, inserting it into the keyhole with a soft click. The lock opened with a faint sound, and seeing the door ajar, Zhiqing stepped in front of Ziya and pushed it open.
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